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Alexander Hamels

Senior Lead Lawyer
AntwerpBrussels
About

Alexander Hamels is a financial services and insurance lawyer.

He advises Belgian and foreign multinationals on all aspects of financial services. Complex regulatory matters, regulatory driven strategic projects, transactions and restructurings, financial services and insurance litigation, as well as cross-border and FinTech related assignments are his core area of practice.

Alexander has particular expertise in insurance and reinsurance. He advised many market-leading (re)insurance undertakings on their business in Belgium and the EEA. This includes (coverage) disputes, regulatory questions and supervisory investigations related to IDD and Solvency II and related financial regulation.

 
Areas of FocusFinancial ServicesInsuranceFinanceInvestment Management and FundsMergers and AcquisitionsRestructuringFinancial Services LitigationGlobal Investigations
Professional QualificationsAdvocaat registered with the Nederlandse Orde van Advocaten bij de Balie te Brussel

EXPERIENCE

  • Establishment and licensing of an insurance undertaking and a payment institution.
  • End-to-end assistance with a large insurance portfolio transfer.
  • Mergers and acquisitions of different financial institutions and intermediaries.
  • Assistance with Brexit contingency planning, including the relocation of a large financial institution and UK intermediaries.
  • Review and design of complex corporate governance arrangements.
  • Defending regulated companies in supervisory investigations carried out by the National Bank of Belgium and the FSMA.
  • Defending financial institutions before Belgian courts (e.g. insurance coverage disputes, payment transactions, AML compliance, collective consumer organisations etc.).
  • Development of internal policies and procedures, including corporate governance and AML.
  • Review of ESG arrangements for financial institutions.
Languages
  • Dutch
  • English
  • French
Education
  • University of Malta, Advanced Studies on Insurance Regulation, 2024
  • University of Oxford, Sustainable Finance Executive Programme, 2022
  • King’s College London, LLM International Financial and Commercial Law, 2021
  • The International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), CIPP/E, 2018
  • London School of Economics (LSE), International Financial Law, 2017
  • Catholic University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Master of laws, 2014

Awards and Recognitions

  • Mentioned in The Legal 500 EMEA 2024, Insurance
  • Mentioned in The Legal 500 EMEA 2023, Insurance

Publications

  • HAMELS A., “A new regulatory framework for the provision of certain crypto-asset services in Belgium”, DLA Piper Insights, 04 March 2022
  • HAMELS A., “Updated registration conditions for Belgian financial intermediaries”, DLA Piper Insights, 31 January 2022
  • HAMELS, A., "Wetgever verbiedt activiteiten van cryptowisselplatformen en -bewaarnemers uit derde landen", TBH/RDC,2022/1
  • HAMELS, A., ANKAERT, E., "[Assurance – Corona] Le COVID-19 sur le lieu de travail : l'affaire des employeurs et des assureurs ?", Assur. Présent 2020, liv. 11, 1-12
  • HAMELS, A., “Brexit: overgangsregime voor financiële diensten beperkt tot verzekeringen”, TBH/RDC, 2021/1, 103-105;
  • HAMELS, A., ANKAERT E., “[Verzekering – Corona] COVID-19 op de werkvloer: een z(t)aak voor werkgevers en verzekeraars?”, Verzekeringsnieuws 2020, afl. 11, 1-12;
  • HAMELS, A., FOSTIER H. and LODEWIJCKX S., “Portefeuilleoverdracht en andere bijzondere verzekeringsverrichtingen” in VAN OLDENEEL, C. (Ed.), “Het Wetboek van Vennootschappen en Verenigingen : gevolgen op het verzekeringswezen”, Tijdschrift voor Verzekeringen, Dossier 2020, 235-262;
  • HAMELS, A. and WOOLFSON, P., “Belgian Insurance & Reinsurance 2019”, International Comparative Legal Guide 2019, May 2019;
  • HAMELS, A. and WOOLFSON P., “Legal Focus: Belgium brings in local MGAs through new law”, Insurance Day, 17 April 2019;
  • HAMELS, A. and WOOLFSON P., “Legal Focus: Belgium proposes post-Brexit bill to woo UK MGAs”, Insurance Day, 13 February 2019;

Seminars

  • Academy of European Law (ERA), Annual Conference on EU Law in the Insurance Sector 2024, " Open insurance, FIDA and GDPR – how do they fit together?", Trier, October 2024
  • Conferentie Ieper, "Tort liability: overview of the new Book 6 Civil Code", Ieper, October 2024
  • University of Antwerp, Werkgroep Financieel Recht, “Articial Intelligence & Financial Services”, Antwerp, 2024
  • Fintech Times, Insurance reimagined: AI risks and opportunities explained, "AI in Insurance – trends and opportunities", London, 2024
  • Fintech Moldova, Digital Transformation for Financial Institutions, "The new EU Open Finance framework: expanding Open Banking principles beyond payments", Chişinǎu, 2024
  • FinTech Belgium, "International scaleup: regulatory environment and pitfalls", Brussels, 2022
  • Abilways, Compliance in insurance, “Insurance distribution rules three years after the Act implementing the IDD”, February 2022
  • Academy of European Law (ERA), Annual Conference on EU Law in the Insurance Sector 2021, “Insurers in run-off: features of the market exit strategies” and panel discussions on sustainability in financial services
  • Academy of European Law (ERA), Annual Conference on EU Law in the Insurance Sector 2020, “EU climate actions and insurance”, October 2020
  • EU Run-Off Forum 2019, “Solvency II 2020 review: risks and opportunities for run-off business”, October 2019

Prior Experience

  • 2015-2021, lawyer at a US law firm and a top-tier independent law firm.

Additional Qualifications

  • Certificate “Cassation in criminal matters”

Memberships And Affiliations

  • Member of the Bar Council of the Brussels Bar Association (NOAB)
  • Immediate Past President of the Young Bar Association of Brussels (Vlaams Pleitgenootschap)
  • Member of the European Young Bar Association (EYBA)
  • Member of De Verzekeringsjuristen

My latest insights

Event
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The Changing Landscape of Open Banking & Finance in Europe

13 June 2024 .1 minute read

Event
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Insurance reimagined: AI risks and opportunities explained

19 March 2024 .3 minute read

Publication
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Bancassurance: New restrictions on bundled sales of mortgage loans and insurance products

15 December 2023 .4 minute read

View All

Connect

Phone

+32 (0) 25001513
(Work, Antwerp)
+32 (0) 498277867
(Work)
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